Phillipe Coutinho names Lionel Messi and leaves out Cristiano Ronaldo when asked to choose the 3 best players in the world

Phillipe Coutinho has arguably been Liverpool’s standout performer of this season and even though he is currently recovering from an ankle ligament injury, he continues to be linked with La Liga giants Barcelona.

The Brazilian magician might have given Liverpool fans something to be concerned about when he picked the Barcelona trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez as the three best players in the world currently. When asked by four four two, Coutinho answered:

"My top three players in the world are the MSN trio,

"Obviously there are others at Real Madrid too, like Cristiano Ronaldo, but those three complete each other.

"One is fast, the other is skilful, then there's the top scorer, so they really complete each other."

While many South American footballers dream of a move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona, Liverpool will be hoping that the talented Brazilian stays in Merseyside for the foreseeable future.

Coutinho’s and Neymar’s friendship is well documented

Jurgen Klopp confident Liverpool can cope with Coutinho's absence

Coutinho suffered an ankle ligament injury in a challenge with Ndong during Liverpool’s Premier League match against Sunderland and initial reports have suggested that the Liverpool star might be out for 6 weeks.

While the absence of Coutinho is undoubtedly a big blow for the Merseyside giants, manager Jurgen Klopp remained confident about his team’s ability to cope without their star man.

"Phil Coutinho is a really good football player and if we can't use him for the next few days or weeks then every team in the world would feel that. That's how it is but there is no excuse for anything," he told reporters on Monday.

"Phil, as good as he is, cannot decide games on his own even if it looks like that at times. He dribbles, he shoots and he is important but it is really a team performance that we have created.

"He's a very important part of that but of course we can handle it. It's not the best thing I can imagine or dream about, to show that we can play without Phil, but we have to show it and we will show it."

Along with Coutinho, other first team stars like Firmino, Lallana and Sturridge are also carrying knocks and Liverpool fans will be hoping that the trio make a quick recovery.

More Football news, transfer rumours, analysis and features at Sportskeeda.com. Also if you are attending a football game anywhere in the world and/or have a news tip for us drop us an email at football (at) sportskeeda (dot) com